What the heck is going on here? The "upper" is knit flat to one side of the sole. Good thing that this is a quick project, because I am so curious to see what a fininshed, but unseamed bootie looks like.

Just a reminder: I'm knitting the T-Strap Shoe from Zoë Miller's book.

I couldn't resist casting on for a pair of the T Strap booties in Zoë Miller's book.

They are so unbelievably cute. I wonder if I can create a pair in an adult size. This decision doesn't mean that the sweater has been put on hold indefinitely. It just means that I won't start it until I have at least one of the booties in the bag.

I'm using Lucy's fine merino-tencel sock yarn. If you've been here before, you know that I'm a big fan of this yarn. You might be too. Buy some here.

I got the pattern's stitch gauge with this yarn, but I'm adjusting for row gauge. Or, more accurately, I'm half adjusting and half fudging. I hate adjusting for a row gauge that's just slightly different than the pattern on a design this small. It results in a lot of semi-adjustments. I'm never sure until I'm done if I did a good job.

The knitting plate is empty, and needs a few new knitting projects. I'm not sure how they'll be prioritized. This book has been calling my name. So many cute booties to knit, and so many cold toes. This might be just the way to put some sock-yarn leftovers to use.

Also, it's clear that I need to knit myself a new sweater or two. [And this isn't only because I managed to leave a whole bunch of clothes at my parents when I was visiting for Christmas.] This pattern has been on the list since Shannon announced her intentions to knit her own version of a favorite store-bought knit. I know the original sweater, and she's right to love it as much as she does. It looks (looked? what's its status these days?) fabulous on Shannon. I hope that I can achieve similar results.

During Blogging Hiatus the First, back in October, I swatched some Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran. Other knitting committments and uncertainty about my ability to commit to a sweater pushed it aside until now. This would be a great train project.

it's not out of the question for me to have two knitting projects happening at once. One's at home, and one's for the train. We'll see.

Not quite in time for Christmas, but squeaking in just before New Year's, I present my finished Wavy Cables Scarf.

I love this. I feel like running all over the city while showing it to everyone who will look. Fear of arrest and good sense will prevent this from happening. I don't think it's too long (time will tell, and I'm prepared to shorten it if needed), and the wool is very warm and soft.

How could I be depressed with handknit socks on my feet? The feeling of handknit socks on one's feet can be surpassed by few other things. Yoga might be one of them, but not having done a lot of yoga in my life, I can't be sure.

These hung around for a month (or so) waiting to be kitchenered. My kitchener lines suck. I mean really suck. Really, truly suck. But, you know what? These are going to be on the bottoms of my feet. Who's going to see them? And, if you're one of the select few who will, I trust that you'll say nothing.

Gray Socks, the details:

Yarn: Lucy's oh-so-fabulous handdyed merino-Tencel sock yarn. Mmm, this yarn is so yummy. Thank goodness I have a couple more skeins in the Subway Stash. You might be wise to direct some of that Christmas cash Lucy's way.

Or, not quite. Here are Kate's thumbless mitts hanging around my dining room just before wrapping:

While we're on the subject of wrapping, The Bookish Girl, Wendy, supplied me with a few additional gift-wrapping links in response to Thursday's post. I thought that I would share.

First, we have Pearl River. Do a search for "take-out containers". I really need to go to this store when I'm in New York; there's lots of cute stuff. And the take-out lamps on the home page? Très cool. A red one would look great in my kitchen.

Then, there's Paper Mart. The name says it all. Lots of packing supplies for you to buy.

Be sure to look at Oriental Trading Company. Cheap things that are produced in East Asian countries. Globalization doesn't get much better than this!

The lack of thumbs just makes the mitts look cuter, in my opinion. As predicted, I whipped up these mitts in about five subway trips, plus some after-hours knitting. All in all a very quick project. Except for the i-cord to connect the mitts so that they stay in Kate's snowsuit, I'm almost done.

I have no idea if these mitts will actually match the snowsuit, but they contain just about every baby-friendly color. I can't imagine that they would clash (much).

Just in time for Christmas, I discovered this clever packaging via a colleague. This particular parcel was filled with lemon-anise biscotti (yum!), it would also be perfect for a pair of handknit socks.

It's available at Papersource. Of course, I had to browse the giftwrap section of the website and discovered more cool things. This might revolutionize how future knitted gifts are packaged.

How can that be? You're living in the South. Even up here in New England, the use of gloves or mittens is still questionable on some days. But I see your point. It won't be like this forever, and someday winter will arrive. And, being the active girl that I know you are, you'll want to go out. I think that these might be perfect for those days:

Sincerely,

Aunt Colleen

Alternatively, this post could be titled "Baby's First Koigu." I found some leftover Koigu KPPPM and realized it would be perfect for a pair of thumbless mitts for Kate's little hands. I got up-to-date measurements via my sister, and cast on. There's no pattern. One mitt worked up with a minimum amount of subway knitting combined with a few moments of Knitsmiths' time. I expect that the other will be just as speedy.

If it looks like the scarf goes on for miles it does. This thing is looooong. Blocking must have relaxed and flattened the stitches. Suddenly, 68 or 70 inches became more than six feet. Actually, I haven't measured it; I'm just guessing. If it's too long when I try it on, I'll just shorten it.

If you're wondering why I'm blocking this on towels instead of my trusty (off-white) dining room rug, I'll tell you: the yarn bled during the cold-water wash. Not wanting to risk a stain, I laid out the scarf on some towels. So far, none of the dye has transfered to the towels. Still, I'll need to be careful after future washings to keep this away from light colored textiles.

Meanwhile, I have a date with a paintbrush. I'll catch you peeps next week.

So, what, you think that I was just sitting around waiting for my window repairman? Not a chance! Not when Wavy Cables needed some fringe:

I debated about the fringe. I mean, the scarf pattern is busy enough, but when I considered everything, I thought that some tassles would be the perfect finishing touch. I'll trim them evenly after I block.

See, I told you that this laptop-free lifestyle would save you from numerous posts about the last bits of Wavy Cables knitting. You even missed out on the Wavy Cables finishing (imagine: knit two rows of seed stitch, bind off, weave in a few ends, and attach some tassles). If my predictions are correct, however, you won't miss a bit of Wavy Cables Blocking--stay tuned!

The Disco Pantry is no more. While Owens Corning insulation makes a pretty cool, if slightly unorthodox, glazing material (and who knew that the Pink Panther is a fellow blogger?), I'm very happy to have my plain old glass window back again.

Now, once something else arrives chez Subway Knitter, things will be back to normal. And, if you're the asshole who broke into my apartment, that something else is a giant dog with big, sharp teeth.

I don't know what this woman was knitting, but it was funky. There was pink, there was purple, and then there was pink mohair, all in one...thing. Was it a bag handle? A skinny scarf? I don't know, but it sure was crazy.

Yeah, that's what greeted me on Friday evening. If you've been keeping track, I had that laptop for exactly six weeks to the day. It was a good six weeks, but (and call me crazy) I thought that it might stick around for longer than that.

There isn't much to write. I'm not going to pretend that this doesn't suck scissors, and that I don't desperately wish that it didn't happen, but things could have been much, much worse. I didn't encounter a drug-crazed lunatic in my living room. No one got hurt; no yarn was injured (although I discovered this morning that one of my--empty--knitting bags was pinched). All that I need to do is grouch about my insurance deductible (which is easily chewed up by the window repair). Everything can (and will) be fixed; everything can (and will) be replaced. I have no plans to undertake any extreme security upgrades, buy a doberman, or put bars on my (second-story) windows. Short of staying home all the time with my trusty Louisville Slugger at my side, there's not a whole lot that I can do to completely protect my home. If someone truly wants to get in, he's getting in.

Because I am once again laptop-free, blogging will slow for a while. This has the benefit of saving all of you from post after post after long-winded post about the Wavy Cables Scarf (it's at five feet eight inches as of this morning), and it gives me time to admire my disco pantry:

We're a touch over five feet in this photo. I think that it needs to go to six. I tried it on, and did some of those crazy scarf maneuvers that women do. I folded it in half and looped it through itself: too short. I wraped the scarf once around my neck, then tied it in a knot: not quite long enough.

One thing I do know: I have more yarn than I thought. This discovery might allow for a matching hat.